1. Technical Field
The present device is a hand-operated, one-piece plunger device, which operates by forcing air instead of water into a clogged drain or toilet.
2. Background Information
When one""s toilet is clogged, using currently available plungers often causes toilet water to splash out on the user. Some of them are overly complicated, and some are ineffective. Most work by forcing water down around the clog, which hopefully causes it to break up and/or move on down the drain. A need exists for a cleaner, more sanitary, simple device which effectively unclogs a drain line.
The present invention is an easy to use plunger device which forces air, not water, down to the clog in the drain line. When the present device is used, splashing is minimal and the user""s hands do not come in contact with dirty toilet water. Using this plunger device is therefore believed to be more sanitary than using currently available plungers. The body of the present plunger device preferably includes grips, and not a central handle on the top of the device that must be pumped up and down. The present plunger device is one-piece, although it includes a small second piece, if it has a valve. The portable, hand-held plunger device of the present invention is for unclogging blocked drains in sinks, toilets, bath tubs, and the like.
The present invention is a plunger device for unclogging blocked drains, comprising: a one piece, generally bottle-shaped, hollow main body with a generally circular opening in one end. The plunger device has a wider, curved body portion extending into a narrower neck portion. The neck portion ends in the opening to the hollow, while the opposite end of the plunger device is generally closed. The plunger device is substantially comprised of a flexible, sturdy, compressible material that returns to its general bottle shape following compression. The plunger device forces air into a toilet or other drain when the user squeezes the body of the bottle-shape, and refills itself with air when released through a preferred closable air valve at its closed end.
The plunger device serves to unstop a clogged toilet without the up and down motion, and resultant splashing of filthy water, associated with a conventional plunger. The device is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and operate, and provides a safe, effective, and sanitary means of unclogging drains. A method of clearing clogged toilets or drains is also included herein.